Peter Cullen, the Canadian voice actor best known for playing the heroic Optimus Prime in the Transformers franchise and the dismal Eeyore in various Winnie the Pooh films, died at the age of 85.
Cullen died on Wednesday at his Los Angeles home, his agent, Kevin Motley, said to The Hollywood Reporter.
His family issued a statement confirming his death, adding he “passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family — and held in the hearts of his many friends and countless fans worldwide.”
The family also urged fans to respect the actor’s legacy through acts of service and compassion, stating they should “honor his remarkable legacy by serving your communities and leading others with compassion, integrity, and loyalty, and always remember ‘be strong enough to be gentle’.”
Cullen, who was born in Montreal, Canada, went on to have a successful career in television, movies, and video games, becoming one of the most recognized voices in animation and popular culture.
Aside from Optimus Prime and Eeyore, Cullen voiced King Kong in the 1976 adaptation of the original film. He also played K.A.R.R., the villainous version of the Knight Automated Roving Robot, on the Knight Rider television series in 1982 and 2009.
Cullen also worked on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1987 picture Predator, where he developed the horrific clicking sounds associated with the monster.
Cullen began his career as a live-action performer and announcer on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.
His breakout role as Optimus Prime occurred in the 1984-87 syndicated animated series The Transformers, which was based on the Hasbro toy line and created by Marvel in collaboration with Toei Animation of Japan and later AKOM in South Korea.
Cullen admitted in a 2014 interview with NPR that he did not completely comprehend what he was auditioning for.
“I auditioned like everybody else,” he replied. “I was told it was a hero, and I was told it was a truck.”
He eventually won the part and became the voice of Optimus Prime, the valiant commander of the Autobots, whose voice became synonymous with the brand.
Fans reacted strongly to Optimus Prime’s death during a confrontation with the despotic Megatron in 1986’s The Transformers: The Movie. The unexpected response aided the comeback of both Cullen and Optimus Prime in the 1987 direct-to-video film The Transformers: The Movie.
Two decades later, Cullen returned to the part when director Michael Bay brought Transformers to the big screen in 2007, with DreamWorks releasing the film, which starred Shia LaBeouf.
In 2007, Cullen described his return to IGN as “like slipping into an old pair of very comfortable shoes that you haven’t worn in a long time.” “I just slipped right into them, and they felt as good as the last time I put them on.”
The 2007 Transformers film, which starred Cullen as the voice of the Peterbilt 379 semi-trailer truck that transforms into Optimus Prime, grossed $709.7 million worldwide, making it the year’s fifth-highest-grossing picture.
Cullen then reprised his character in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), which grossed $836.3 million, as well as Dark of the Moon (2011) and Age of Extinction (2014), which grossed approximately $1.1 billion globally.
He continues to voice Optimus Prime in The Last Knight (2017), Bumblebee (2018), and Rise of the Beasts (2023), staying with the character across multiple generations of the franchise.
Cullen’s long career established him as one of the most iconic voices in animated entertainment, with Optimus Prime in particular being a permanent part of his legacy.
While Chris Hemsworth played Optimus Prime in the 2024 animated feature Transformers One, Cullen’s depiction is considered the canonical voice of the character by generations of Transformers enthusiasts.
His passing brings an end to a career that spanned decades and generations, leaving behind a body of work that featured some of the most iconic characters in animation and movies.
